Bailee
A feminine name derived from the French name Bailleul meaning "fortified place".
Name Census estimates that about 15,992 living Americans carry the first name Bailee. It is a predominantly female name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Bailee today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bailee births was 2000 (682 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bailee. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Bailee with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Bailee is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 232 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
16K
~ 1 in 21,433 Americans
Peak year
2000
682 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#989
Tracked since 1982
Census
Bailee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 12,887 people with the first name Bailee, which placed it at #2,092 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,092
National first-name rank
People counted
13K
12,887 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bailee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bailee is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.4%) and Hispanic (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bailee described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bailee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.8% · 9,764
- Black or African American12.4% · 1,594
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 669
- Two or more races4.6% · 598
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 132
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 130
Gender
Gender distribution for Bailee
Bailee leans heavily female at 98.6% of total registrations, but 232 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Bailee as a male name
- Ranked #12,516 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1997 (24 births)
Bailee as a female name
- Ranked #989 in 2024
- 260 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2000 (658 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bailee leans strongly female. 12,669 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 217 male bearers (1.7%).
Popularity
Bailee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bailee from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 5,409 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bailee by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bailee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bailees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 48 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Bailee, while Vermont, Hawaii, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 302 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bailee
The name Bailee originated from the Old French language during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the word "baillie," which means "governor" or "steward." The name was initially used as a title or occupational surname for those who served as bailiffs or administrators of a particular estate or region.
In the 12th century, the name Bailee appeared in various historical records and legal documents related to feudal systems and land ownership. It was often used to refer to individuals holding positions of authority or responsible for managing properties on behalf of noblemen or the crown.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bailee can be found in the "Domesday Book," a medieval census compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The document mentions several individuals with the surname Bailee, indicating their roles as bailiffs or stewards in various parts of England.
Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods, the name Bailee continued to be associated with administrative and legal professions. Notable individuals who bore this name include Bailee de Clervaux, a 13th-century French jurist and author of legal treatises, and Bailee de Montfort, a 14th-century English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War.
In the 16th century, the name Bailee gained popularity as a given name, particularly among upper-class families in England and France. One example is Bailee Somerville, an English writer and philosopher born in 1572, known for her works on scientific and philosophical subjects.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Bailee was also used in literary works and plays. William Shakespeare's play "The Merry Wives of Windsor" features a character named Bailee, a servant to one of the main characters. Additionally, the French playwright Molière included a character named Bailee in his famous comedy "The Misanthrope," first performed in 1666.
In the 19th century, the name Bailee became more widespread and was used across various social classes. One notable figure was Bailee Langsdorf, an American educator and women's rights activist born in 1822, who advocated for equal educational opportunities for women.
Over the centuries, the name Bailee has evolved from its historical roots as an occupational title to a given name with various spellings and variations, such as Bailey, Baylee, and Baylie. While its popularity has fluctuated throughout different periods, the name Bailee continues to be used in modern times, carrying a rich cultural heritage and historical significance.
People
Bailee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bailee as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bailee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bailee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15,992 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bailee going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 21,433 US residents.
Is Bailee a common name?
We classify Bailee as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16,244 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bailee most popular?
The single biggest year for Bailee was 2000, when 682 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bailee is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bailee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 12,887 people with the name Bailee, or 4.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,092 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bailee in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bailee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bailee leans strongly female. 12,669 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 217 male bearers (1.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bailee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bailee is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Black (12.4%) and Hispanic (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bailee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bailee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.8% (9,764 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bailee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bailee a female name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Bailee in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Bailee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bailee in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bailee can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Bailee?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.